“By the way, Mac says he’s sorry he missed you, but he had to get home. He wants you to call him.”
Mac wanted to see her again, too? Could it be that both men wanted to continue . . . whatever it was they’d started last night? Trent stepped close and took her chin in his palm. “Last night was only a taste, baby.”
She sighed at the realization that she didn’t know a single thing about relationships—except pain and lots of it. “I’m in uncharted water here.”
“All we want is time to get to know you. We’ll let fate handle the rest, okay?”
“Yes, okay.” How could she refuse? Two amazing men wanted to spend time with her. It was unconventional, but if she’d learned anything by being married to a tyrant, it was that sometimes going the conventional route wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Might as well try playing outside the sandbox for a change.
4
Later that evening, Crystal arrived early for their dinner date and took advantage of the time to stare at Trent as he made his way around the main room of Kinks. It’d only been a few hours and she was already anxious to see the man. When a customer stepped in front of Trent, vying for his attention, Crystal’s line of sight was slightly hindered.
She’d driven past the club several times trying to kill time. She hadn’t wanted to arrive too early and appear desperate. As the quick-as-lightning bartender slammed a club soda down in front of her then proceeded to rattle off a price, Crystal was abruptly brought out of her drooling stupor. She grabbed some dollar bills from inside the dark confines of her messy purse and went back to her staring. Only now, Trent had moved a few steps closer to her, and he was staring at her. A slow, sexy smile curved his lips and Crystal knew she’d been made.
God, it should be a sin to have a body as masculine and perfect as Trent’s. A deep longing rose from the pit of her stomach. She wanted him. Now. Here. It shocked her that she was responding to him in such an eager way. Then again, any sane woman would want a man like him. He was too gorgeous not to notice.
His black jeans molded to his muscular legs and lean hips as if custom-made. His ass was so solid a girl could bounce a quarter off of it. His simple white T-shirt wasn’t anything special, but on him, it looked better than Armani. His wide, solid chest made Crystal want to reach out and touch. With the easy move of his hips and the naughty look in his eyes, Crystal couldn’t stop her heart from pounding out of control.
His slate-blue gaze held Crystal captive. An involuntary tremor ran the length of her spine. She realized that he’d probably known all along that she’d been watching him.
Crystal brought the drink to her lips, saluting him, then tipped the contents down her throat. She looked back up and saw Trent’s expression turn from teasing to hungry as he skimmed his gaze over her exposed throat. Her body tightened. Seemed all he had to do was look at her and she was ready and aching. She’d never had such a volatile reaction to a man before. She’d also never come across a man so powerful and intoxicating, either.
With no warning, a woman tromped up to Trent and fairly hung on to his shoulder. What the hell? The little tramp plastered her breasts against him in blatant invitation. He turned his head and spoke to her, and Crystal came to her senses. A man like him wouldn’t really be interested in a woman like Crystal. He was all about excitement and risks. She was all about work. She was a huge disappointment—hadn’t Richard told her that?
For fear of embarrassing them both, Crystal suddenly made the decision to leave. She rose off the hard, cold bar stool and yanked at the hem of her black skirt, wishing for the umpteenth time she hadn’t bothered trying to look her best for Trent and his family. Her red, off-the-shoulder blouse, black skirt, and heels made her feel stupid now.
She’d never been one to go to bars and nightclubs. She only came tonight because Trent had asked her to dinner. She should have done something with Mollie instead. Crystal grabbed her purse. Time to go. It was the only safe and smart thing to do. Unfortunately, that meant leaving Trent behind. A knot formed in her throat at the thought of never seeing him or Mac again.
As she passed the section of the bar where Trent was sitting, his hand snaked out and grabbed on to her arm. Crystal was brought up short. At first, she felt a rush of irritation at his audacity. Not two seconds ago, another woman had been flirting with him. She yanked away from his grasp as a nasty touch of envy crept into her consciousness. After all, the other woman had been daring enough to approach him, while she was all but running out the door.
Crystal jerked her head around to give him a good what-for, but she was left speechless by his narrow-eyed gaze. He had the look of a lion who’d just caught dinner. Do I want to be dinner? Do I dare give in to him? If her mind had an answer, it wasn’t giving it up. Her body, on the other hand, was screaming at her to surrender.
He bent his head down and she could feel his hot breath against her ear as she inhaled his clean male scent. “Where are you going?” he asked. He got off his own stool and stood in front of her. He was so close she could practically feel the intense sexual heat coming off him. His body was so wide, so muscular, and so very intimidating.” I thought we had a dinner date.”
“You seem otherwise occupied,” she gritted out as she looked at the woman who still stood way too close to Trent.
“Come on,” he said, as he took hold of her hand and tugged her along behind him. He was chocolate to Crystal. She wanted him, even though she knew it was wrong. The small hint of amusement in his deep, gravely tone nearly had her purring.
Crystal narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you have customers to get back to?”
He turned his head and his eyes darkened. “No. But before you say anything else, I think it’d be best if we continued this discussion in private.”
Still, she hesitated. Trent didn’t give her a chance to protest. “You haven’t taken your pretty eyes off me since you got here.”
Crystal caved. Fine, so she was weak. Trent seemed to recognize the instant she succumbed. No more words were uttered from either of them. He simply led her away, twisting his way through the sea of bumping and grinding bodies. People appeared to step aside for him. She was suitably impressed. He took her to the upstairs apartment, and Crystal’s thoughts were obliterated as she watched him walk. He was so sexy. So much fluid grace. And he had the most edible ass she’d ever seen. A man’s well-muscled tush did it for her every time. Crystal felt the apex of her thighs dampen with arousal.
When he closed the door to the apartment behind him, Crystal started right in. “Why did you bring me here?” she bit out, as anger started to rise.
Trent stepped forward then, taking her head in his large, skillful hands, and gritted out, “I brought you here to tell you that I was turning that woman down. Not taking her number.”
Crystal was afraid to believe him. She’d believed Richard’s lies in the beginning, hadn’t she? “It seemed to me she was getting pretty cozy with you.”
“I do own a nightclub,” he murmured. “One that caters to people interested in bondage and submission. That brings on a certain amount of flirtatious behavior. Still, since meeting you I’m not interested in other women. Only you, Crystal.”
And why did that send her heart fluttering? “You’re interested in me?”
“Yes, and I’ve been dying to do this . . .” Then his mouth was suddenly crushed against hers, forcing her lips apart, not bothering to wait for her to open them in her own time. He took possession of the soft interior in a way that had her shaking body swaying forward against his rock-hard length, and her arms coming up to wrap around his neck.